We find ourselves right in the middle of the big Toronto press junket, er, film festival, where 200-plus films are landing, many of them as world premieres, and the landscape of this year’s Oscar race is really beginning to take shape. As I looked out at the various films in play this year, it suddenly […]

The summer movie season has come to an end, and what an interesting season it was. We saw three billion-dollar grossers for the first time ever in one year, let alone one three-month spread (thank you, 3D). We saw a bit of a glass ceiling for comic book movies, proving nothing is a sure thing […]

Not much to say. “Super 8” had another good drop, while Woody Allen fell out of the top 10, but continues to chase himself (he’ll be on the heels of “Hannah and Her Sisters” next week). And finally something takes “The Hangover: Part II” off the top of the domestic chart this year. (Courtesy: Exhibitor […]

Welcome to Oscar Talk. In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty […]

I imagine $52 million for the “Green Lantern” start is lower than WB was hoping for out of a potential franchise-starter but solid enough given the critical thrashing (and seems about right for the film). I totally forgot “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” was coming out this weekend, and so did most others, it seems. “Midnight in […]

It’s left to be seen whether “Super 8” has the legs a number of people certainly HOPE it has (and we’ll just take the studio’s word on that $50 million price tag). But this is a better start than most were expecting, and a big win for the film overall. (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

Paramount is rolling out J.J. Abrams’s “Super 8” 24 hours ahead of schedule today with an IMAX-heavy release in over 300 theaters. That’s the #Super8Secret, and it reads to me as a desperate, though perhaps smart attempt to get some high-dollar ticket sales in the bank for a low-tracking film in advance of the weekend. […]

Where to begin on “Super 8?” It’s so clearly the kind of film directors tend to make, unmolested, after a major hit, the kind where someone really needed to be pulling the strings and smoothing the edges and seeing the forest through the trees. “But I’m J.J. f***ing Abrams.” (I’m sure he’s a splendid chap.) […]

(I figure it’s time to start bringing these back in on Sundays.) I would have said it’ll be interesting to see if Paramount’s strategy of screening “Super 8” to the geek base and using favorable reviews to drive tracking will be enough to grab a top spot next week, but with a $56 million opening, […]

7. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Outrageous. Make it stop. 6. “Cowboys & Aliens” Though cluttered, expands on what we’ve seen. 5. “Captain America: The First Avenger” Not a bad trailer but something lingering still has me on guard. 4. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” A true teaser, promising escalation but more contained.